Companies Tap Into Battery Power To Cut Energy Bills

All kinds of companies are using batteries to cut expenses and reduce demand for new power plants. Over the past few years, there has been a major upward tick in the number of U.S. companies that have started installing batteries to store electricity for later use.

Last year, Cargill Inc. reported that it had installed two megawatt-hours of batteries to provide extra power at certain times of the day at its plant in Fresno, California. The batteries are expected to help save about $100,000 a year on power expenses. More recently, J.C. Penney Co. Inc. announced that it had installed batteries in six of its Southern California stores and has plans to install batteries at three additional stores this year as well as 14 more next year. The batteries provide about 35 kilowatts of power for roughly two hours, which translate into $6,000 a year on savings on its power bills. To learn more about the upward trend in battery installations and use, read on!

According to our client, GTM Research, the U.S. deployed 112 megawatts of energy storage capacity in the fourth quarter of 2015, representing more than the total of all storage deployments in 2013 and 2014 combined. Additionally, we are seeing strides made at the state level: California is requiring big utilities to install or help coordinate the installation of 1,325 megawatts of energy storage over the next five years to help balance an increasing flow of electricity from solar panels and wind turbines, whose production varies depending on conditions and time of day.